Started new system this weekend here in Waimanalo, Oahu

We just started our new system this weekend. It has lava rock media, 110 gallon tank and its a flood and drain system. We germinated seeds yesterday and have starter plants in our grow bed now. We are hoping that in the long-run this is a cost-saving opportunity for our family. Good quality fresh produce is not cheap here in the islands and we have a family of 5. We will use tipalia for our fish, but here in Hawaii, tilapia is still known as a "rubbish fish" because it was frequently found in our canals and drains. Many locals don't eat it. If there are other alternatives will you let me know? Or I guess we should get over our fears and try it....

We are excited to join the AP community and have already found tons of useful information! We have so much to learn! If there is anyone on Oahu, please connect with us.

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What a fabulous view from your back-yard - lucky! I'm using talipia in my AP system as well, it's a hardy fish and I've not experienced any problems with them, the fish are 5 months old. I'm new to AP as well, I don't have experience with any other breeds of fish. Good luck with your new system.

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As for the fish. Tilapia really isn't anything special but when grown in a nice clean aquaponics system, there is nothing wrong with them either. They are a very mild fish that will take on the flavor of whatever you cook them with.

I don't like tilapia where I am since they are an invasive species here and in an an aquaponics system here they require heating to keep them alive through the cold snaps and our temperatures during the cool season are cool enough to put tilapia off their feed here for a few months without heating.

If your Island climate means water temperatures tend to stay above 70 F then tilapia are a find choice of fish. Unless you are like my Mom, who would choose catfish over tilapia any day.

ah... i could not figure out how to post my pix... thanks! My brother told me to use catfish instead, he said it tastes better....

TCLynx said:

You can post photos directly into your messages using the button at the top of the post box next to the link button

like this

As for the fish. Tilapia really isn't anything special but when grown in a nice clean aquaponics system, there is nothing wrong with them either. They are a very mild fish that will take on the flavor of whatever you cook them with.

I don't like tilapia where I am since they are an invasive species here and in an an aquaponics system here they require heating to keep them alive through the cold snaps and our temperatures during the cool season are cool enough to put tilapia off their feed here for a few months without heating.

If your Island climate means water temperatures tend to stay above 70 F then tilapia are a find choice of fish. Unless you are like my Mom, who would choose catfish over tilapia any day.

Thank you for the reminder, sometimes we take the view for granted! Hm, well if you experiment with other fish, let me know.

Waialeale

Russ Grant said:

What a fabulous view from your back-yard - lucky! I'm using talipia in my AP system as well, it's a hardy fish and I've not experienced any problems with them, the fish are 5 months old. I'm new to AP as well, I don't have experience with any other breeds of fish. Good luck with your new system.

I'd say use what fish are easy to get at first. Tilapia tend to be handy in tropical climates where cold weather isn't an issue. I don't know how easy it is for you to get catfish there but if it's easy, they are nice fish to grow if your system is big enough. Channel Catfish need a fairly big tank if you grow them out the way I like to.

Talapia overall is a good eating fish,mild and flakey. Once I tried a blind taste test against papio and 9 out of 10 like the Talapia better, I know wow! One thought: if you raise your own animals (fish) at least you know how they were raised and the care put into them. At the supermarkets who knows how the animals are treated. I've heard from some who tried aquaponics raised fish that the Talapia (white) taste way better then the ones that come from Taiwan and The Phillipines. Also I heard that the Mc Donalds filet o fish is now Talapia (not confirmed).